- BLOG -

​In the mood for something a bit naughty? Maybe you’re looking for something like 50 Shades of Grey but with actually sexy scenes and realistic characters and above-grade school writing ability? Then you’re going to want to check out S. I. Hayes’ latest release, Heart of Stone.

​THE PLOT

Heart of Stone, like many stories before it, is filled with rough sex and power plays. But with a protagonist like Donella, Hayes injects something new to the slap and tickle genre. Donella, very much unlike many female characters at the chewy center of way too many erotica novels, is not a submissive, lip biting, inner Goddess screaming virgin; she’s an alpha whore and proud of it.

Donella has no time for all that lovey dovey nonsense the likes of Anastacia Steele desire; she’s more of a get off and get out type of gal who demands to be in full control. But things begin to change when she meets an Abercrombie & Fitch model… I mean, starving artist who is very much more than his Clark Kentness shows.

How and if she changes is for you to discover as you zip through this speedy read; Hayes keeps is light and quick and you’ll flip through this sexy story with ease.

THE PEOPLE

No two characters of Heart of Stone are alike; each one has a voice and personality all their own with crisp, vivid descriptions to match. Donella, the book’s star, is a complicated creature whose rich and powerful while still having a vulnerability about her; Matthew, the boy who might change her world, gives off a brash and confident vibe even when he’s doubting his very existence. Both characters are flawed and will sometimes be driven by those flaws but that only adds to the realism. There are way too many supporting characters to properly go into but rest assured that every one is a unique and interesting as the leads.​VERDICT​With three dimensional characters who bicker and snap at each other almost as well as they go at it (which they do a lot), Hayes has written another book definitely worth your time. There a are few spots where a bit of polishing could have been done but there’s inothing that takes away from the enjoyment of the story. So go get your copy now; It’s available in paperback andebook formats (available for free reading with Kindle Unlimited).

​Donnella Stone is as her name describes, cold, powerful and rich. She is a true Manhattan Blue Blood. This has left her with a problem, the men in her life have often only come for what they can take from her, and it has never been her heart.

To protect herself she has rules and a non-disclosure agreement for all of her relationships with men, she gets what she needs, and promises opportunity, means and her silence once the length of the arrangement ends. It has worked for a decade.

Until she meets Matthew Mayfield, an adorable, awkward artist from Connecticut whose work and passionate attitude instantly intrigue her. The problem? He takes more of an interest in her, than any man she has met before.
​Can he get past the dragon and heal her heart of stone or will her past be too much for him to handle, leaving them both on the wayside?

​Shannon (S. I.) Hayes has been telling tales for so long as she has been able to talk, and began writing them down shortly thereafter. She is the singular author of the In Dreams... series, and a paranormal historical romance called Centuries Of Blood: Becoming. Shannon is the co-author to Awakenings: The Wrath Saga, a paranormal drama likened to Big Brother meets The Real World of the Preternatural, as well as several blogs and host to her own website. ​